Frederic Austin

Frederic Austin

Frederic Austin was an English baritone singer, a musical teacher and composer in the period 1905–30. He is best remembered for his restoration and production of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch, and its sequel, Polly, in 1920–23...

 did not assign opus numbers to any of his music. His published output (apart from The Beggar's Opera, Polly and Perviligium Veneris) consists mainly of song settings for solo voice or chorus, while most of his major orchestral and other works remain in manuscript (see the 'MS' column). Most of Austin's works can be accurately dated, though some (mostly lacking an extant MS) are undated: see the 'Year' column.

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Year	Genre	Robert Browning Robert Browning Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:... )	pub.
1909	solo song	It Was a Lover And His Lass, for voice & piano (after Shakespeare)	pub.
1910	solo song	Three songs for voice and piano Proud Maisie (after Sir Walter Scott) Sigh no nore, ladies (after Shakespeare) My Susan was a Bonny Lass (after H. E. Hunt)	pub.
1910	solo song	When I am dead, my dearest (after Christina Rosetti)for voice and piano	pub.
1911	military band Concert band A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...	Music for The Pageant of London Festival of Empire The Festival of Empire or Festival of the Empire was held at The Crystal Palace in London in 1911, to celebrate the coronation of King George V...  (Part III, section 6), for military band Concert band A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A... Bartholomew Fair The Departure of Captain Cook on his last voyage	MS
1913	orchestral	Symphony in E minor, for large orchestra	MS
1913	solo song	Two songs for voice and piano My Dear Mistress (after John Wilmot John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , styled Viscount Wilmot between 1652 and 1658, was an English Libertine poet, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry. He was the toast of the Restoration court and a patron of the arts... ) Oft in the Stilly Night (after Thomas Moore Thomas Moore Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death... )	pub.
1914	piano	Battle Songs of the Allies, arr. for piano Belgium. La brabanconne - Gallant men of Liege France. La Marsellaise - Partant pour la Syrie Russia. Russian national hymn England. The red, white and blue Scotland. The hundred pipers Ireland. Wearin' o' the green Wales. Land of my fathers Great Britain. Rule Britannia - God save the King	pub.
1914	solo song	Songs in a Farmhouse, for soloists, chorus and orchestra; also with piano accomp. Summer is a-coming in Sumer Is Icumen In "Sumer Is Icumen In" is a traditional English round, and possibly the oldest such example of counterpoint in existence. The title might be translated as "Summer has come in" or "Summer has arrived".... ...Chorus The Poacher The Lincolnshire Poacher "The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song.The Lincolnshire Poacher can also refer to:*Lincolnshire Poacher , a numbers station*Lincolnshire Poacher , a type of cheese... ...Bass solo and chorus It was a Lover and his Lass (Shakespeare)...Chorus The Banks of Allan Water Allan Water The Allan Water is a river in central Scotland, United Kingdom. Rising in the Ochil Hills, it runs through Strathallan to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth.... ...Soprano solo Drink to Me Only (Ben Jonson Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems... )...Tenor and semi-chorus Early One Morning Early One Morning "Early One Morning" is an English folk song. The lyrics are first found in publications as far back as 1787. A broadside in the Bodleian Library, Oxford dates from about 1803... ...Contralto solo The Ash Grove The Ash Grove The Ash Grove is a traditional Welsh folk song whose melody has been set to numerous sets of lyrics. The most well-known was written, in English, by John Oxenford in the 19th century.... ...Unaccompanied chorus John Peel John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004... ...Bass solo and chorus	pub.
1916	solo song	The Shepherdess ("She walks, my lady of delight"), for voice and piano (after Alice Meynell Alice Meynell Alice Christiana Gertrude Thompson Meynell was an English writer, editor, critic, and suffragist, now remembered mainly as a poet.-Biography:... )	pub.
1917	orchestral	Palsgaard, Danish sketches for large orchestra A Feast-Day Procession The Pool with the Swans Sailing up the Fjord The Book of Sagas	pub.
1918	solo song	An Epitaph, for voice, string quartet & piano (after Elizabeth Cary)	pub.
1920	opera	The Beggar's Opera The Beggar's Opera The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today... , libretto by John Gay John Gay John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch... , music by Pepusch Johann Christoph Pepusch Johann Christoph Pepusch , also known as John Christopher Pepusch and Dr Pepusch, was a German-born composer who spent most of his working life in England.... , arr. Austin	pub.
1920	orchestral	Incidental music to The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher.... , for small orchestra	MS
1920	solo song	Love's Pilgrimage: Three Songs for voice and piano Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths (Yeats Yeats W. B. Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright.Yeats may also refer to:* Yeats ,* Yeats , an impact crater on Mercury* Yeats , an Irish thoroughbred racehorse-See also:... ) Terre Promise (Ernest Dowson Ernest Dowson Ernest Christopher Dowson , born in Lee, London, was an English poet, novelist and writer of short stories, associated with the Decadent movement.- Biography :... ) Parted Presence (D.G. Rossetti Dante Gabriel Rossetti Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,... )	pub.
1921	piano	The Enchanted Palace, for piano The Princess Sings The Princess Dances	pub.
1921	solo song	To My Fair Lady, for voice and piano	pub.
1921	orchestral	Incidental music for The Red Lamp by W. Outram Tristram for small orchestra	MS
1921	chamber	Incidental music to Will Shakespeare by Clemence Dane Clemence Dane Clemence Dane was the pseudonym of Winifred Ashton , an English novelist and playwright.-Life and career:... , for flute, two violins, and cello	MS
1922	opera	Polly, the sequel to The Beggar's Opera, libretto by Clifford Bax Clifford Bax Clifford Bax was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator, for example of Goldoni...  after John Gay John Gay John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch... , music by Pepusch Johann Christoph Pepusch Johann Christoph Pepusch , also known as John Christopher Pepusch and Dr Pepusch, was a German-born composer who spent most of his working life in England.... , arr. Austin	pub.
1923	orchestral	Incidental music to The Insect Play by Karel Čapek Karel Capek Karel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings... , for small orchestra	MS
1923	piano	Suite from The Insect Play, for piano Waltz on themes from the play One-step Three-step	pub.
1923	choral	Two May Songs, for unison chorus Come Listen Awhile All In The Pleasant Evening	pub.
1923	solo song	Emmeline ("Missing"), for voice and piano (after A.A. Milne)	pub.
1924	orchestral	Incidental music to The Way of the World The Way of the World The Way of the World is a play written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London... by Congreve William Congreve William Congreve was an English playwright and poet.-Early life:Congreve was born in Bardsey, West Yorkshire, England . His parents were William Congreve and his wife, Mary ; a sister was buried in London in 1672... , for small orchestra	pub.
1924	opera	The Bandit, comic opera, libretto by Eden Philpotts (unperformed)
1924	voice and orchestra	The Blacksmith's Serenade, humorous scene for voice & ensemble (after Vachel Lindsay Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. He is considered the father of modern singing poetry, as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted... )	MS
1924	solo song	Two Songs, for unaccompanied voice (after Walter de la Mare Walter de la Mare Walter John de la Mare , OM CH was an English poet, short story writer and novelist, probably best remembered for his works for children and the poem "The Listeners".... ) The Song of Soldiers Wanderers	pub.
1924	solo song	Christmas Eve, for voice and piano (after John Drinkwater)	pub.
1925	opera	Robert Burns, a ballad opera, libretto by John Drinkwater	MS
1926	solo song	Two Songs for voice and piano Birdlip Birdlip Birdlip is a village in Cotswold District of Gloucestershire in England, in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about south of Cheltenham and south east of Gloucester.-History:...  (Fred. E. Weatherly Frederick Weatherly Frederic Edward Weatherly was an English lawyer, author, lyricist and broadcaster. He is estimated to have written the lyrics to at least 3,000 popular songs, among the best-known of which are the sentimental ballad Danny Boy set to the tune Londonderry Air, the religious "The Holy City", and the... ) A Brave town is Liverpool (H.E. Hunt)	pub.
1926	choral	Two songs for 4-part chorus Where Shall the Lover Rest? Who can live in heart so glad? (Nicholas Breton Nicholas Breton Nicholas Breton , English poet and novelist, belonged to an old family settled at Layer Breton, Essex.-Life:... )	pub.
1927	chamber	Sonata for cello and piano	MS
1927	solo song	Three Wessex Songs, for voice and piano (after Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a... ) When I Set Out for Lyonesse Though Dynasties Pass (In time of 'The breaking of nations') The Fiddler	pub.
1929	solo song	Three Songs of Unrest, for voice and piano Margaret In City Streets (Ada Elizabeth Smith) The Sleeper's Song (W.H. Davies)	pub.
1929	choral	It Was and Still My Care Is, (Hymn to the Lares Lares Lares , archaically Lases, were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries or fruitfulness, hero-ancestors, or an amalgam of these.... ) for 4-part unaccompanied male chorus (after Herrick Robert Herrick (poet) Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith.... )	pub.
1930	ensemble	Incidental music for The Devil & the Lady, by Tennyson, for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, timpani and piano	MS
1930	solo song	All About Me: song cycle for voice and piano (after John Drinkwater) Invitations Mr. Moon The Difference Puzzles John Pride Riding in Rotten Row Rotten Row Rotten Row is a broad track running for along the south side of Hyde Park in London. It leads from Hyde Park Corner to the Serpentine Road. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Rotten Row was a fashionable place for upper-class Londoners to be seen...	pub.
1930	chorus	Song for City of Oxford School, for chorus and piano (after John Drinkwater)		pub.
1930	solo song	Fond Lover, Cease your Woeful Sighs, for voice and piano (after Clifford Bax Clifford Bax Clifford Bax was a versatile English writer, known particularly as a playwright, a journalist, critic and editor, and a poet, lyricist and hymn writer. He also was a translator, for example of Goldoni... )	pub.
1931	chorus and orchestra	Pervigilium Veneris Pervigilium Veneris Pervigilium Veneris, the Vigil of Venus, is a Latin poem, probably written in the 4th century. It is generally thought to have been by the poet Tiberianus, due to strong similarities with the latter’s poem Amnis ibat. It was written professedly in early spring on the eve of a three-nights'... , for chorus and large orchestra (after Tiberianus)	pub.
1931	solo song	The Fair Circassian, for voice and harp (after Richard Garnett Richard Garnett Richard Garnett C.B. was a scholar, librarian, biographer and poet. He was son of Richard Garnett, an author, philologist and assistant keeper of printed books in the British Museum.... )	pub.
1931	piano	Maids' Delight, Dance Suite for piano Rigadoon Running Dance Jig	pub.
1932	orchestral	Incidental music to Prudence, by Frederick Witney for small orchestra	MS
1932	chorus	Content, for two-part female chorus (after Thomas Dekker)	pub.
1935	chamber	The Fairy Ring, for cello and piano (cello part arranged by Herbert Withers) Titiana Captain Cockchafer	pub.
1935	orchestral	Overture The Sea Venturers, for large orchestra	MS
1936	orchestral	Robert Burns concert suite for orchestra, adapted from Austin's 1925 opera	MS
1936	solo song	The Sailor's Song, for voice and piano (trad.)	pub.
1940	choral	Four Part-songs for Unaccomanied chorus Stay, O Sweet (John Donne) Let Us Now Take Time (Robert Herrick) Gather Ye Rosebuds(?) (Robert Herrick) Swedish Drinking song	pub.
1941	solo song	Two Short Songs for bass voice and piano (after Herrick Robert Herrick (poet) Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith.... ) Born I Was to be Old (Anacreontike) Go I Must (To his Tomb-Maker)	pub.
1943	Film music	Film score for Undercover
1943	solo song	Serbian Wife's Song, for voice and piano (words by Frederic Austin)	pub.
1944	piano and orchestra	Concertino Concertino (composition) A concertino is a short concerto freer in form. It normally takes the form of a one-movement musical composition for solo instrument and orchestra, though some concertinos are written in several movements played without a pause....  for piano & orchestra, arr. piano and strings by ?? in 2008	MS
1949	solo song	Orpheus, for voice and piano (after Shakespeare)	pub.
1900 ?	choral	Te Deum, for choir and organ	pub.
1914 ??	voice and orchestra	The Agincourt Song Agincourt Carol The Agincourt Carol is an English folk song written some time in the early 15th century... , for baritone, chorus and orchestra	MS
1922 ?	piano	The Moth: dramatic scene for dancing, for piano (MS has some orchestration indications)	MS
1925 ?	piano or orchestra	Theme & Variations, for two pianos (unfinished). Also partially orchestrated by Austin for large orchestra, performing version (approx. 25 minutes) completed by Jeremy Lee-Browne	MS
1935 ?	organ	Organ Sonata (dedicated to Percy Whitlock Percy Whitlock Percy William Whitlock was an English organist and post-romantic composer.A student of Vaughan Williams at London's Royal College of Music, Whitlock quickly arrived at a musical idiom that combined elements of his teacher's output and that of Elgar... )	MS
1940 ?	choral	Tyger, Tyger, for unaccompanied 8-part chorus (after Blake William Blake William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age... )	MS
-	piano	The Sleeping Beauty, for piano	MS
-	piano	The Garden of Delight: Sketches for a (Chinese) ballet, for piano	MS
-	solo song	Three Scotch Songs, for voice and piano Cam' ye by Athol Johnny Cope Culloden	pub.
-	solo song	The Departing Lover ("Sweetest Love, I Do Not Go") for voice and piano (after John Donne John Donne John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,... )	pub.
-	solo song	Gather Ye Rosebuds, for voice and piano (after Robert Herrick Robert Herrick (poet) Robert Herrick was a 17th-century English poet.-Early life:Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Julia Stone and Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith.... )	MS
-	solo song	Lorna's Song, for voice and piano (after R. D. Blackmore R. D. Blackmore Richard Doddridge Blackmore , referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world... )
-	solo song	My True Love Hath My Heart, for voice and piano (after Shakespeare)	MS
-	solo song	Three Fool's Songs, for voice and piano (after Max Beerbohm Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian "Max" Beerbohm was an English essayist, parodist and caricaturist best known today for his 1911 novel Zuleika Dobson.-Early life:... 's play 'Savonarola') "When peas hang green in the garden wall" "Fly home, sweet self" "Wear not the ring, it hath an unkind sting"	MS
-	solo song	Two 17th Century Lyrics, for high voice and piano Dirge (after Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont Francis Beaumont was a dramatist in the English Renaissance theatre, most famous for his collaborations with John Fletcher.... ) Morning Song (after Thomas Bateson Thomas Bateson Thomas Bateson, Batson or Betson was an English writer of madrigals in the early 17th century.He is said to have been organist of Chester Cathedral in 1599, and is believed to have been the first musical graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He served as Vicar Choral and organist of Christ Church... )	MS
-	orchestral	Carnaval (Schumann Robert Schumann Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era.... ): arrangement for reduced orchestra
-	orchestral	Giselle (Adolphe Adam Adolphe Adam Adolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas... ): arrangement for reduced orchestra
-	orchestral	Les Sylphides Les Sylphides Les Sylphides is a short, non-narrative ballet blanc. Its original choreography was by Michel Fokine, with music by Frédéric Chopin orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. Glazunov had already set some of the music in 1892 as a purely orchestral suite, under the title Chopiniana, Op. 46... , ballet by Glazunov Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...  after Chopin: arrangement for reduced orchestra
-	orchestral	The Rhine Maidens: orchestration of W. G. McNaught's SSA arrangement of the opening scene of Wagner Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas... 's Rhinegold

Popular songs by Fred Austin

A number of popular and novelty songs with music by a certain "Fred Austin" were published by the Lawrence Wright Music Co.

Lawrence Wright (composer)

Lawrence Wright was a British popular music composer and publisher. He was born in Leicester and opened a music shop in the city in 1906...

during Frederic Austin's lifetime. They include:

• I do like a Lancashire cocktail
• I'm going back to Himazas
• It’s nice to be home again
• Our heroic family (as sung by Jay Laurier)
• Some girls (are nicer than others) (as sung by Jack Lane)

Sources

• Lee-Browne, Martin (1999), Nothing So Charming As Musick! London: Thames Publishing ISBN 0-905210-97-2
• Gänzl, Kurt: British Musical Theatre, vol. 2 (1915–1984), Oxford: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-520509-X